This application claims the priority of Korean patent application Ser. No. 1998-20595 filed on Jun. 3, 1998.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for harvesting cartilage, and more particularly to an apparatus for harvesting with ease and safety, a needed amount of cartilage from cartilaginous tissue of a human body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Surgeons have used alloplastic materials for augmentation rhinoplasty, thyroplasty. tympanoplasty, and correction of subglotuic and tracheal stenosis and wide nasal cavities caused by atrophic rhinitis.
However, these material can cause inflammation and hypersensitive reactions. Although there has been no official report of people developing cancer due to the material, some studies report that carcinogen has been found in the bodies of animals injected with the material.
To avoid the above noted side effects of the alloplastic material, many surgeons are performing the same operations using autogenous tissues found in bone, cartilage, dermis, fascia and the like. Of these, cartilage is used most abundantly by surgeons because it is easy to handle, there is little absorption after surgery and it is easily fixed to the receiving site.
However, in the septal and auricular cartilage, there is a limit to the amount of cartilage that can be harvested, and it takes a long time to remodel and suture these regions to suit the specific needs. Contrary to products made from the silicon, the shape of an end product made from septal or auricular cartilage is uneven at its margin as well as on its surface and is not perfectly straight.
Large amount of cartilage can be obtained from the coastal or rib cartilage. However, there is lingering pain and a relatively large scar left on the chest wall after harvesting rib cartilage with conventional surgery. Also, with known methods, unnecessarily large amounts of cartilage are extracted and deformity often occurs on the chest wall.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for harvesting cartilage easily and safely with minimal scaring of the chest wall or pain.
To accomplish the above object, the present invention provides an apparatus comprising a cartilage harvesting pipe having a cutting blade, a driving means for moving the cartilage harvesting pipe, a connecting member for connecting the cartilage harvesting pipe to the driving means, a cutting member made of a wire for separating the cartilage from a cartilaginous tissue by cutting the cartilage which is harvested using the cartilage harvesting pipe.